


but don't you run away before you tell her

by theyoungestzerogmechanic



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Friends With Benefits To Lovers, Friends to Lovers, Minor Allison Argent/Erica Reyes, Minor Malia Tate/Kira Yukimura, Minor Scott McCall/Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 01:08:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2794244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theyoungestzerogmechanic/pseuds/theyoungestzerogmechanic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone should really start telling people that just because you agree that it's just sex doesn't mean that it stays that way.</p><p>OR Cora and Lydia have a love hate relationship which only gets worse when they add 'no strings attached' sex to the mix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	but don't you run away before you tell her

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank [Syd](http://sydburf.tumblr.com) for betaing this fic for me.  
> The title is taken from Echosmith's 'Tell Her You Love Her'.  
> 

“Hurry up.” Lydia panted as Cora sucked hickeys onto her neck, “I have a lecture in twenty minutes."

“I’ll be quick about it then.” Cora said, pressing her more firmly against the wall. “Now shut up, you’re distracting me with your babbling.”

Lydia was opening her mouth to reply when Cora’s hand slipped past the waistband of her shorts and she let out a squeak instead.

Cora moved her lips to Lydia’s neck, sucking hickeys into her fair skin while she worked her fingers, brushing her thumb across the red head’s clit.

“I hate you.” She panted against the other girl’s skin and Cora smirked.  
“You wish you hated me, Red.”

~

When Lydia stopped by Allison’s room after class Cora was already there; sprawled across Erica’s bed and propped up by the headboard with a guitar across her lap while she strummed it idly.

Her head shot up when the door opened, but it dropped again when she saw that it was only Lydia.

Allison was lying across the room on her own twin bed, staring at the ceiling as she listened to Cora. Lydia knew this was something the two of them did often when they were waiting for Erica or Lydia to show up. Cora would play something and they would both croon vocals together; sometimes Allison would drum a beat against the wall until their neighbours would yell at them to stop the thumping and that they’d better not be having sex in there.

“Hi Ally.” Lydia dropped onto the bed next to her, discarding her bag at the end of the bed and curling her feet up under her legs. “Cora.”

“Hey Red.” Cora shot her a smile that was all teeth and continued to pluck at the strings, “how was your lecture?”

“Fine.” she spat, and actually, it had been better than fine. The lecture itself had been a boring one, but she’d spent the first half of it in a post-orgasmic haze and the second half daydreaming about what she was going to do to Cora later.

“Glad to hear it.” Her smile hadn't faded even a little and Lydia suspected she knew what that fine really meant.

Allison’s eyes flickered between them but she let it slide. This was tame considering the way most of their arguments turned out and because she hadn’t needed to pull them apart it looked like Allison was taking it as a win.

“We’re waiting for Erica, and then we’re going to meet the others at Death By Caffeine, maybe go to that frat party they’re having over on the far side of campus.” Allison told her, reaching up to bat lazily at the ends of her hair.

“Sounds like fun, I’m going to head over to my dorm room to change and I’ll meet you there?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll come with you; I want to grab my jacket.” Cora stood, placing the guitar carefully back on its stand and slung her backpack over her shoulder.

Lydia wasn’t sure what she needed the backpack for. She had never seen Cora actually attend a class and she always seemed to be everywhere, so how did she even have time to go to lectures?

“You coming, Red?” Cora and Allison were looking at her expectantly, the former was holding the door open for her.

“Yeah,” she brushed past Cora into the hallway and started towards their room. It didn’t take Cora long to catch up though and Lydia huffed out a breath when the girl fell into stride with her.

They made it back to their dorm room in silence. Once they were inside Cora just leant against closed door, watching lazily as Lydia rummaged through the wardrobe for something else to wear.

“Are you just going to stand there and watch me get changed?” Lydia finally snapped, spinning to face her dorm mate in a flash of red curls, hands planted on her hips.

Cora let her eyes travel down the other girls’ underwear clad body and back up again before she answered.

“That was the plan.”

“Come help me with this then.” Lydia said, turning around and tugging a grey summer dress over her head before turning back to look at Cora expectantly and holding out the white lace tie.

Cora took the tie and brought one arm out around Lydia’s stomach, pressing herself against the girls back and leaning her chin on her shoulder before taking a step back and tying the belt into a bow.

“Thanks,” Lydia said, smiling at her over her shoulder before tugging on a pair of tights while Cora grabbed her leather jacket off her bed, leaving her backpack in its place.

“My pleasure, Red.” Cora said, moving to wait by the door expectantly and holding it open for Lydia when she walked over.

While they walked across campus Cora slung an arm across Lydia’s shoulders. She must have been in a good mood that day because she didn’t shake it off or turn to accuse Cora of one thing or another. Lydia moved her arm across Cora’s back and slipped her hand into one of her ass pockets.

Cora smirked down at her but didn’t comment on it and Lydia ignored her in favour of sending Allison a text telling her that they were on their way now and asking if Erica had shown up yet.

Her phone buzzed almost instantly with a message saying ‘Yeah, Erica’s with me, we’re waiting on you guys and Isaac.’

“Stop texting and walk Red, or I might accidentally steer you into a tree.”

Lydia glared up at her when she spoke but shoved her phone awkwardly into her bra anyway, elbowing her in the ribs when she leered down her shirt and pretending she didn’t see the way Cora had smiled at her when she’d put the phone away.

~

Nine college students shoved into a small booth was not the best idea, but it’d been one of the last spots free, so Kira and Malia had snagged it. The place got super busy late at night; not only was it open all night, but the coffee was also cheap and not completely terrible.

“So, are we going to go to this party or not?” Isaac asked, taking a sip of his coffee as he tried not to slide out of the booth and onto the floor.

“Yeah?” Scott said, glancing around the booth at the others.

“Sure.” Malia agreed and Kira nodded from her left.

“Why not?” Cora said, resting her elbow on the table and leaning her chin against her palm, “we haven’t gone out in a while, it’ll be fun.”

“So it’s settled then,” Erica said with a grin, “We finish our drinks and then we party hard.”

Cora flicked a wadded up napkin at her and laughed when it bounced off her forehead. Erica scrunched up her nose and flung it back across the table at her.

“Bitch.”

“You love me, really.” Cora told her confidently, tossing the napkin back again.

“Yeah, even though you're actually the worst, Cora Hale.” she said without menace.

“You guys ready to leave?” Stiles asked, placing down his empty coffee cup and glancing around at them expectantly.

Muttering affirmations, they slid out of the booth, Cora offering Lydia a hand to help her out which she took, although she dropped it as soon as she was out and standing.

“Who’s the sober escort tonight?” Kira asked as they made their way towards the sound of blaring techno music.

“I’ll do it.” Cora spoke up from the back of the group, “Haven’t done it in a while and it’s always fun to watch you guys get drunk and do stupid stuff.”

“Thanks Cora.” Stiles said, elbowing her in the ribs. “Currently unsure if that was you being nice or insulting.”

“Little bit of both, I think.” Malia chipped in, her arm looped through Kira’s. “But I’ll take it.”

~

Cora took a sip from the bottle of beer that she’d been nursing for the past twenty minutes while she watched Allison, Kira and Lydia dancing, Erica and Malia taking shots and Scott and Stiles making out in some dimly lit corner.

Isaac had taken off shortly after they’d arrived, taking a shot before then disappearing upstairs with a shirtless frat boy.

She glanced away from Erica and Malia in time to get a mouthful of red curls as Lydia flung herself at her, apparently finished with dancing.

Cora curled an arm around her waist to keep her upright and pulled the girl against her side while she spat curls from her mouth.

“What are you doing, Lydia?” she asked cautiously as the red head nuzzled into her neck.

“I wanted to come and see you.” She said, giggling as she fisted her fingers into Cora’s shirt.

“Uh huh and why is that?” She said, looking down to meet her eyes.

“Cause I think I like you.” she whispered conspiratorially, breath warm against Cora’s neck. “Like-you like-you.”

“Okay, Red.” Cora said, humouring her.

“I do, too!” Lydia said again, sounding offended that Cora didn’t believe her and pouting when Cora had the audacity to laugh at her.

“Whatever you say, Red.” Cora told her, snagging her a bottle of water which she took a sip of before turning her nose up at it.

“Fine, Hale, don’t believe me.” Lydia said with a frown, “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“It’s getting late,” Cora said, changing the subject. “We should be getting back.”

Lydia yawned and let Cora manoeuvre her and the rest of their drunken friends across campus and into dorm rooms with increasing difficulty.

She left Scott and Stiles in their single dorm room and the girls in Erica and Allison’s dorm so Kira and Malia’s respective dorm mates couldn’t complain about the late (or early, depending on how they looked at it) hour.

“Just get into your bed please Lydia.” Cora groaned, untangling Lydia’s limbs from around her neck and tucking her under the covers before crossing the room and collapsing face down onto her own bed.

~

“You’re being stupid.” Erica told her, taking a sip of her coffee.

They were sitting at their usual booth in Death by Caffeine drinking coffee while Erica gave her relationship advice.

“Says you.” Cora said with a scoff, “It took you months to ask Allison out.”

“Yeah, and look at us now. We’re together and we’re happy, and don’t tell me that you’re happy with this whole ‘friends with benefits’ relationship you and Lydia have going because I know that you’re not. You need to girl the hell up and go tell her how you feel.”

“Tell who how you feel?” Kira asked, dropping into the booth next to Cora and stealing a sip of her drink.

“Lydia.” Erica told her, frowning at Cora when she groaned. “What? I told you, everyone already knows how you feel about her except maybe her.”

“It’s true.” Kira said as she flagged over the waitress. “You aren’t exactly subtle about it.”

“Well, what do you suggest I do then?” Cora asked, ordering another cup of coffee after the waitress was done with Kira’s order.

“There’s that party we were going to go to tonight.” Kira told her thoughtfully, fiddling with a packet of sweetener.

“Oh yeah, you could always try something there, tell her how you feel.”

“Yeah right.” Cora scoffed, “You know that would never work.”

“How can you be so sure? You should at least try it, Cora. You’ll never know if you don’t try and all that.”

“Yeah, you can thank us in the morning.” Erica said sliding out of the booth, “I’ve got to run.”

~

Cora glared across the room where Lydia was flirting with some guy from her journalism class. They’d gotten to the party, and she’d promptly disappeared into the crowd, yelling something about drinks over her shoulder.

Cora had finally managed to track her down amidst the sea of people and the thumping bass, and she’d been here with some guy giggling at everything he said and feeling up his arms.

Deciding that standing here pouting wasn’t going to get her anywhere Cora slipped back into the crowd to find herself a drink and possibly an attractive girl to make out with.

As soon as she stepped into the kitchen Erica beckoned her over to the table top where she had a line of shots going; the good stuff too.

“Care to join me, Hale?” she said, waving a shot glass in Cora’s direction.

“Sure thing, Reyes. I could use a few drinks, possibly more.”

“Something happen?” Erica asked concerned but Cora shrugged her off.

“Nothing I can’t handle, now are we going to do these shots or what?”  
The group that had gathered around them cheered and Erica turned to grin at them, holding a shot glass in the air.

“Let’s get this thing started then!”

“Ten bucks says that I can do more shots than you.” Cora said, smirking at her friend across the table and Erica raised her eyebrows at her.  
“It’s a bet then.”

~

Cora pressed the girl back against the wall, nipping a trail down her throat and then back up to her lips. Sam. Her name was Sam. And she was nice and pretty and while she didn’t have red hair or big doe eyes, Cora liked her.

“Can I help you?” Cora asked as she felt a hand on her shoulder, tugging her away from Sam and spinning her to face them.

“What are you doing?”

It was Lydia, frowning up at her with a hurt look in her eyes like Cora had killed her dog or something.

“What does it look like I’m doing, Lydia?” Cora said, pushing down any guilt she felt about the whole situation. “I’m not going to be hanging onto your every word for the rest of my life just because I like you and the sex is good. I want a real relationship.”

Lydia made a small noise in the back of her throat, opened her mouth and then snapped it shut again before speaking.

“This isn’t exactly the time or the place for this conversation, Cora.”

Cora was aware that they were attracting a crowd and that Sam had slipped off at the beginning of their fight, but she needed to say this, to get it off her chest. She wasn’t sure if it was alcohol or adrenaline or a mixture of both which allowed her to continue but she did.

“Oh really, and when is the right time? Whenever I try to bring it up you skirt around the issue or make up some excuse to leave; you keep putting it off and I don’t know if it’s because you're afraid of what you’re feeling or if you're too scared to break it off because this thing we’re doing feels like a safety net to you, but this needs to end, Lydia.”

“Is this because of your feelings towards me, is that what this is about, you’re jealous? When we started this relationship we have you promised me this was just about sex, no strings attached, no feelings, just sex.”

“When is anything ever just sex?” Cora said bitterly, “and jealous? I’m no less jealous than you, which I assume is the reason you stormed over here to stop me from making out someone else.”

“I am done with this,” Lydia said, voice suddenly deadly calm, “and I am done with you.”

She turned on her heel and stormed off, the crowd dissipating in front of her and reforming behind her.

Huffing out a breath, Cora shouldered her way through them, heading for the door. She needed to get away from this mess and clear her head.

Leaving the campus, she walked the few streets between the campus and Derek’s apartment, knocking softly on his door and praying that he was still up. It was only eleven, but sometimes Derek acted more like an old man than the twenty-five year old that he was.

It was Braeden who answered the door; stepping back once she was who it was so Cora could step inside.

“What brings you by this late, kid?” Braeden asked, leading Cora into the living room where Derek was sitting in an armchair with a book.

“Girl problems.” Cora said, sinking onto the sofa next to Braeden while Derek finally looked over at her and pulled a face.

Derek placed his book down and turned to face her while Braeden looked at her expectantly.

“Do I need to hurt anyone?” Derek asked which earned him a breathy laugh from Cora.

“Maybe hold off on the violence until after I try another approach.” Cora said, kicking off her boots and curling her feet up and under herself.

"What kind of girl problems?"

“The type than only really happen in shitty romance movies. So, Lydia and I have been sleeping together for a few months now, and the deal was that it was just sex, nothing more, no strings attached. But lately I’ve started having these feelings for her and tonight at this party I saw her flirting with this guy, so I decided screw her and I was hooking up with someone else when she interrupted, mad about it. We got into this huge fight, and she called everything off so I left and came here.” Cora said, playing with her fingers as she spoke.

“Just tell her how you feel, Cora.” Derek spoke up from the armchair. “Us Hales are weird about emotions, you know that. It’s easiest just to get it out and over with. Let her decide how she feels.”

“He has a point. It sounds like you know what you want, and it’s Lydia who needs to make up her mind about everything.”

“I guess so, I just feel bad about leaving things like this.”

“You need to give her some time to think about what happened tonight and maybe sort out some of her shit.”

“Okay, you mind if I crash here tonight though, face her in the morning?”

“Of course.” Braeden pulled her into a hug before disappearing into the bedroom to give her some time with her brother.

“You’ll work it out, Cora. You always do, you’re smart like that.” Derek said, pressing a kiss to her forehead and fetching her a blanket and a pillow before following Braeden into the bedroom and leaving Cora to make her bed.  
She sat there for a moment before pulling out her phone and composing a short text.

‘staying at derek’s tonight. see you in the morning.’

Her thumb hovered over the send button for a moment before she sighed, sent it, and threw her phone onto the coffee table.

~

The next morning Cora stayed for breakfast before heading back to her dorm room to shower and change into something that didn’t smell like cheap alcohol and sweat.

She wasn’t expecting to run into the guy from last night at the top of the stairs. He shot her a wary look and sidled around her like he thought she was going to bite him until he was able to escape down the stairs.

Cora entered the doom room to the sound of running water and a naked Lydia rummaging through her chest of draws.

Lydia jumped at the sound of the door slamming shut and glanced over her shoulder to find Cora standing in the doorway.

“I crashed at Derek’s.” she said by way of explanation, throwing her jacket onto her bed and pulling her shirt over her head.

“I see.” Lydia’s voice was tight and she shifted uncomfortably.

“We having this shower or what?” Cora asked, shedding her jeans and underwear and heading into the bathroom.

“Shouldn’t we talk about this?” Lydia said as she trailed after her.

“We could. Or,” Cora stepped into her; trailing one hand down the side of her body, along the swell of her breast, the curve of her hip, until she was thumbing her clit. “We could have this shower and talk,” she tugged at the other girl’s earlobe with her teeth, “later.”

~

Lydia had dark circles under her eyes which she hid with concealer, but Cora knew that they were there. She watched Lydia apply her makeup each morning and she knew the signs that the girl wasn’t her usually perky self.

“You okay?” she asked on the second day when Lydia returned from her lecture and collapsed face down onto her bed.

“I haven’t been sleeping well, it’s nothing.” She said mostly unintelligibly, words swallowed by her mattress.

Cora understood what was going on now. After the argument when Lydia had crawled into bed with her, Cora had told her to get out, because she was angry, and she couldn’t think straight, and how could Lydia just go around like she hadn’t just hurt her?

“Just- Come here.” Cora spoke the words so softly that at first she thought Lydia hadn’t heard them and that she would be forced to repeat them; but then Lydia sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, padding across their dorm room until she was standing with her knees pressed against the frame of Cora’s bed, eyes lowered and body trembling.

Cora reached up and gripped her upper arm, tugging her down until she was lying curled across her. She didn’t say anything else and neither did Lydia. Cora waited until her breathing evened out and she was asleep before releasing a ragged breath, and staring up at the ceiling wondering what the fuck she was doing here.

~

“You two are both being ridiculous,” Allison told her when Cora stopped by her dorm room to ask her what she should do about this whole mess. “You like her, she likes you; you two need to kiss and make up already. The only people affected by this mess are you two, and you’re making each other miserable.”

“But maybe this whole things simpler if I just move on.” She said, flopping down on Erica’s bed.

“You mean easier. And for who, Cora? You or her?”

Cora picked at Erica’s bedspread and mulled over Allison’s words.

“And what if she doesn’t actually feel the same way?”

“No harm, no foul. You don’t try and this could wind up being one of those things you regret into your mid-forty’s. Do this for you, Cora.”

~

Cora was supposed to be working on her essay for her computer programming and analysis course, but the page was blank and so was her mind.

Her focus was drawn to Lydia across the room who was doing something on her computer that appeared a lot more interesting that this stupid essay that Cora was attempting to write.

Figuring it was pointless to even being attempting this right now she shut her laptop and turned to stare at Lydia instead.

“Hey Lydia?”

“Yeah?” She glanced up from her laptop and over at Cora.

“I think I’m in love you.”

“What?” She asked looking shocked. She shoved her laptop away and swung her feet off the bed. “Cora, you can’t just turn around and say that!”

“Why not, Lydia? We both know how I feel about you. Hell I’m pretty sure that everyone does, but unlike you, I’m not going to ignore it and pretend that everything’s fine anymore. I can’t do it!”

Her breathing was ragged, and she felt tight and anxious. She wasn’t stupid enough to think that Lydia would take the news well or even that she’d reciprocate the feeling, but there was a small part of her that was hoping as much.

“God, Cora.” Lydia ran a hand over her face and glanced helplessly around the room. “You can’t just spring something like that on me, it’s not fair!”

“Well this thing we do where you pretend to not know how I feel about you and I play along with it isn’t fair on me either. I don’t care that you don’t feel the same way, Lydia, but-”

Cora was cut off by Lydia scoffing and clambering to her feet.

“You think after all this that I don’t feel the same way about you? Are you serious right now?”

“But-”

“No,” Lydia cut her off again, “You’re right. I’ve been acting like an idiot because I was scared about how I feel for you, and I’m sorry for that.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Cora. Really.” Lydia sat down next to her and reached for her hands, twining their fingers together.

Cora leant forwards and kissed her, one hand coming up to cradle her face while the other remained clutching hers tightly. Lydia was pretty sure it was the best kiss she’d ever had.

~


End file.
